English pronunciation · Words Starting with C
Confucius Pronunciation
Confucius is pronounced kuhn-FYOO-shuhs, IPA /kənˈfjuʃəs/.
kuhn-FYOO-shuhs
US /kənˈfjuʃəs/
Syllables: kuhn · FYOO · shuhs (3 syllables, stress on syllable 2)
proper noun (personal name): The Chinese philosopher and teacher of the fifth century BC whose sayings shaped East Asian thought for two thousand years.
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Confucius in a Sentence
- Confucius taught that ritual and character hold a society together.
- The quotation is usually attributed to Confucius on very little evidence.
- She wrote her thesis on how Confucius was read in eighteenth-century Europe.
Common Mispronunciations of Confucius
Not kon-FYOO-see-uhs
Fold the cius ending into one block, shuhs. Spelling out see-uhs adds a syllable the name does not have.
Not kuhn-FOO-shuhs
Slip a y glide in before the oo, so the middle reads FYOO rather than FOO. The same glide appears in future and fuel.
Tip: This Latinised form is far from the Chinese name Kong Fuzi, roughly kohng foo-dzuh. Both are in use depending on the audience.
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